Happy Meat
Most of the time I think I'm a pretty good vegetarian, in that I don't get on my soap box around meat eaters and cry when I see little lambs a-frollicking in the field.
More recently when asked why I'm a veggie, I've found it harder to give an answer. I gave up meat when I started looking into the way animals were reared and slaughtered. Undoubtedly I was an impressionable dude back then, and I'm pretty sure it all started when I was shown one of those undercover videos that groups like the Animal Liberation Front make.
Now obviously these films aren't representative of all farming conditions but my logic was that even if those farms and slaughterhouses only represent a small minority of the businesses out there, how could I guarantee that what I bought in the supermarket wasn't from one of those places. So I gave up meat, which was surprisingly easy and has been until recently, because when asked why I was still a veggie I didn't have much of an answer - it almost felt like a form of obsession. That was until today when I read this article here and watched another video, again secretly filmed, this time by Animal Aid.
It's a strange film - not too gruesome, no sombre voice over or emotive sound track. In fact it made me laugh (briefly) at one point there is a strangely warped scene where a despondent, shit caked pig stares mournfully into the camera whilst Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes belt out 'The Time of My Life from a radio somewhere off camera.
Now I'm not arguing that all meat is murder. I accept that we're omnivores and as such a well balanced diet involving some form of meat protein is no bad thing. I don't know if I will ever go back to meat, maybe it is just habit now, but there's also a sense that it never sat right with me when I ate it and the fact is I don't need to eat it. I have managed for 18 years because I have a fair understanding of nutrition and access to all the necessary foodstuffs to make a balanced pizza...I mean meal. But just you wait when the system finally breaks down and all of us back to the landers revel in our post-apocalyptic heaven - I'll be the first one out there hunting for stray cats and gerbils...
What I am saying is that as consumers we should be asking questions about where the food on our plate has come from and in the case of meat, what kind of an existence an animal has had prior to getting it's throat cut. Surely the animals that we rear should be entitled to better conditions than those in the video..I mean 'Dirty Dancing' c'mon..
PS - The answer for those of you that love meat but want happy meat - is buy organic.
More recently when asked why I'm a veggie, I've found it harder to give an answer. I gave up meat when I started looking into the way animals were reared and slaughtered. Undoubtedly I was an impressionable dude back then, and I'm pretty sure it all started when I was shown one of those undercover videos that groups like the Animal Liberation Front make.
Now obviously these films aren't representative of all farming conditions but my logic was that even if those farms and slaughterhouses only represent a small minority of the businesses out there, how could I guarantee that what I bought in the supermarket wasn't from one of those places. So I gave up meat, which was surprisingly easy and has been until recently, because when asked why I was still a veggie I didn't have much of an answer - it almost felt like a form of obsession. That was until today when I read this article here and watched another video, again secretly filmed, this time by Animal Aid.
It's a strange film - not too gruesome, no sombre voice over or emotive sound track. In fact it made me laugh (briefly) at one point there is a strangely warped scene where a despondent, shit caked pig stares mournfully into the camera whilst Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes belt out 'The Time of My Life from a radio somewhere off camera.
Now I'm not arguing that all meat is murder. I accept that we're omnivores and as such a well balanced diet involving some form of meat protein is no bad thing. I don't know if I will ever go back to meat, maybe it is just habit now, but there's also a sense that it never sat right with me when I ate it and the fact is I don't need to eat it. I have managed for 18 years because I have a fair understanding of nutrition and access to all the necessary foodstuffs to make a balanced pizza...I mean meal. But just you wait when the system finally breaks down and all of us back to the landers revel in our post-apocalyptic heaven - I'll be the first one out there hunting for stray cats and gerbils...
What I am saying is that as consumers we should be asking questions about where the food on our plate has come from and in the case of meat, what kind of an existence an animal has had prior to getting it's throat cut. Surely the animals that we rear should be entitled to better conditions than those in the video..I mean 'Dirty Dancing' c'mon..
PS - The answer for those of you that love meat but want happy meat - is buy organic.
posted by Mark W at 10:29 am
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